RDA (Resource Description and Access): The New Way to Say, "AACR2"

    Every segment of life has its familiar products. In the food world, most people have heard of Kool-Aid, French's Mustard, and Coke. With automobiles, the names Chevrolet, Toyota, and Ford easily come to mind. In the school library world, the Newbery Award, Scholastic, and AACR2 are well known nationwide. AACR2? How did that term make the school library's "familiar products" list?
    For those readers who may not know, AACR2 stands for the Anglo-American Cataloging Rules, Second Edition. It is the cataloging code librarians across North America have been using since 1978. AACR2 is about to take on a new character and focus as the RDA (Resource Description and Access) -- scheduled to be introduced in 2008. This development is a major change in the library community in general (and the school library community in particular). A brief examination of the history of the creation of library cataloging code and use followed by the development and philosophy behind RDA may be helpful to provide a context for RDA and its development.

THE HISTORY OF AAGR EARLY HISTORY
    According to "A brief history of AACR," produced by the Joint Steering Committee for the Revision of Anglo-American Cataloging Rules, AACR2 and available at <www.collectionscanada.ca/jsc/history.html> the Anglo-American Cataloging Rules began as the Condensed Rules for an Author & Title Catalog, originally published in an 1883 edition of Library Journal. This "predecessor to AACR" served as the catalyst behind an effort by the American Library Association (ALA) and the Library of Congress (LC) to combine ALA's cataloging rules with LC's plan to introduce its printed catalog card program.
    The result of combining the Condensed Rules for an Author & Title Catalog and the LC card catalog project plans was the introduction of a comprehensive version of the ALA rules in 1902. The 1904 revision included portions of the cataloging rules developed by Charles A. Cutter, the co-creator of the Cutter-Sanborn Tables, a combination of letters and numbers for arranging author names in some libraries. Although these attempts to create cataloging rules originated in the United States, similar cataloging rules development was underway across the Atlantic in the United Kingdom.
    The 1883 introduction of the Cataloguing Rules by Great Britain's Library Association (LA) was an early attempt to gather cataloging rules in Western Europe. Similar in content to the Condensed Rules in the United States, the British Cataloguing Rules document was revised in 1902. This revision included contributions from both the American and British documents. The creation of this master document with content from both sides of the Atlantic was a harbinger of future American -- European collaboration on cataloging standards.

AMERICA AND GREAT BRITAIN JOIN FORCES
    Because cataloging documentation efforts were occurring simultaneously, the ALA and the LA agreed to combine their efforts, creating international cataloging rules but publishing them in two editions -- the American edition, known as the Catalog Rules, Author and Title Entries, and the British edition, the Cataloguing Rules, Author and Title Entries. These truly Anglo-American cataloging rulebooks contained a total of 174 entry rules for authors, titles, and associated descriptions (basic author, title, and physical descriptive details).
    When the British government declined further involvement during the early days of World War II, the joint development of Anglo-American cataloging rules was briefly interrupted. This "British retreat" led to the ALA revision of the Catalog Rules, Author and Title Entries that added 150 new rules to the original 174. thus creating a complex, two-part, 324-rule document that included the new feature of authority cards. The 1949 publication by the Library of Congress of Rules for Descriptive Cataloging in the Library of Congress introduced distinct descriptive cataloging rules for different types of materials.
    American-British cooperation in developing cataloging guidelines resumed in i960, during the International Conference on Cataloging Principles held in Paris. At that meeting, an international panel created twelve basic cataloging principles. These "Paris Principles" became the basis for the first edition of the Anglo-American Cataloging Rules (AACR), created by the LG and groups from the ALA, LA, and the Canadian Library Association. AACR was updated several times -- with the extensive revision being published in 1978, forming the basis for the AACR2 we use today.
    AACR developments in the late 1960s and 70s included the introduction of the International Standard Bibliographic Description (ISBD) in 1969, a revised AACR chapter 6 for monographs in 1974, and later revisions to AACR chapter 12 ('AV and Special Instructional Materials') and chapter 14 ('Sound Recordings').
    According to Barbara Tillett, chief of the Cataloging Policy and Support Office at the Library of Congress, the "Paris Principles" -- the original AAGR core philosophy -- are now being reviewed and updated to reflect today's Web environment. The result of the series of International Federation of Library Associations Meetings of Experts on an International Cataloguing Code (IMEICC-IFLA) will be the development of the Statement of International Cataloguing Principles. The interim report issued by the committees was presented at ALA in July 2007. The prototype -- www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/jsc/rda.html. -- is available with links to draft chapters 1-2, 4-6, 3, 6-7, and 9 (Joint Steering Committee 2007).

DEVELOPMENT OF AACR2 AND THE VISION OF RDA
    The original 1967 AACR was published in two versions (North American and British), each divided into three parts:
    * Entry and heading
    * Description
    * Non-book materials
    While this original AACR document reflected the joint development of cataloging rules from an international perspective, the fact that it was still being presented in two versions created inconsistencies. To rectify the discrepancies, a joint committee in 1978 produced and developed a truly international code in one document -- AACR2.
    Unlike its predecessor, AAGR2 contained only two parts:
    * Description (now based on the General International Standard Bibliographic Description: Annotated Text -- or ISBD(G))
    * Entry and heading
    The LC, the National Library of Canada, the British Library, and the Australian National Library adopted AACR2 in 19 81. The text was later revised in 1988, 1998, and 2002 to reflect changes in entry procedures and the development of new formats, particularly emerging formats such as electronic resources.
    While AACR2 was intended to address cataloging in all formats, this "comprehensive view" of AACR2 has been debated. Ann Huthwaite, in her AACR2 and Its Place in the Digital World: Near-Term Solutions and Long-Term Direction, discusses the fact that the cataloging rules for some formats -- particularly those that are electronic-based -- may contain similar descriptive characteristics and thus be assigned to multiple chapters in AAGR2 (Huthwaite 2000).
    Additionally, these similarities are appearing in ways never experienced before. For example, prior to 1997, most documents were produced in print. If another format happened to be generated for the document, it was usually reproduced in a micro-based format (microfilm, microfiche, etc.). Today, an original document may come as a portable document format (PDF) or coded in the extensible markup language (XML). When cataloging documents in these new formats, catalogers often find AACR.2 rules too specific and, thus, not easily adaptable to the cataloging requirements for these formats (Huthwaite 2000).

RDA: FROM CONCEPT TO REALITY
    To meet these challenges, the Committee of Principles, an international body of representatives from library and research institutions, and the Joint Steering Committee for the Revision of Anglo-American Cataloging Rules, has developed Resource Description and Access, or RDA, The statement of purpose for RDA is as follows:

RDA -- Resource Description and Access will be a new standard for resource description and access, designed for the digital world.

Built on foundations established by the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules (AACR), RDA will provide a comprehensive set of guidelines and instructions on resource description and access covering all types of content and media.

RDA will enable users of library catalogues and other systems of information organization to find, identify, select, and obtain resources appropriate to their information needs. (Joint Steering Committee 2007)

    Structurally, RDA contains the following parts:
    * Introductions (general principles/concepts)
    * Part I -- Description
    * Part II -- Relationships
    * Part III -- Authority control
    * Appendices
    An important part of RDA is its direct alignment with the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR) and Functional Requirements for Authority Records (FRAR) models (Please see the Knowledge Quest CE-Cataloging column "FRBR: Cataloging's Future is Closer than you Think!" for additional information (Adamich Sept./Oct. 2007). Other important features of RDAare its attempt to address ambiguous terminology, resolve problems related to identifying material classes (that is, terms describing GMDs -- General Material Designators), eliminate inconsistencies in technical and content descriptions, and address the cataloging of digital resources, three-dimensional objects, visual materials, manuscripts, and archives more effectively.
    An online tutorial reviewing RDA's specifications and use will be accompanied by examples written in English, a glossary and references to important RA-related definitions. Plans are underway to build implementation activities, developed in cooperation with educators and cataloging training professionals worldwide. These activities are intended to support the integration of ADA structure and content into the cataloging workflow. According to several RDA press releases, these details will be discussed in greater detail at two RDA Joint Steering Committee meetings -- the first held in Chicago in April 2008 and the second to be held in cooperation with the International Federation of Library Associations' (IFIA) Institutions Section in Quebec City, Ganada, in August 2008. (Joint Steering Committee 2008). Two sample sections (see pp 63-64) provide some insight into the future of cataloging rules using RDA.

RDA'S IMPACT ON CATALOGING IN SCHOOL LIBRARIES
    For the school library community, RDA will have a limited impact on the daily cataloging and processing of materials entering school libraries, as, in most cases, teacher librarians modify existing cataloging records created by bibliographic utilities, materials publisher s, and other bibliographic record vendors. But the connection of RDA to the FRBR model and its use of a hierarchical structure -- using the "work" level (that is, uniform titles) to link different "manifestations" (that is, formats) to that master "work" level -- will affect how school library catalogs will be organized and accessed in the future.
    Another important affect of RDA will be the cataloging of a new group of library resources, including streaming videos and online document formats (PDF, XML, etc.). Furthermore, while school libraries will continue to use the Machine Readable Cataloging (MARC) standard for the foreseeable future, the use of other bibliographic standards (including the Dublin Core and GEM metadata standards; see the CE-cataloging column "Curriculum-based Cataloging and the New Metadata: Cataloging Beyond the World of MARC" for additional information [Adamich May/June 2007]) will become more widespread as school libraries join other libraries worldwide in presenting information describing library holdings in places beyond the scope of the traditional "library catalog" -- including websites, data records, and other documents.
ADDED MATERIAL
    Tom Adamich adamich@rmu.edu
    Tom Adamich has been a certified teacher librarian since 2000 and a librarian since 1991. A graduate of the Kent State (Ohio) University School of Library/Information Science and Kansas State University College of Education School Library Media Certification, Tom has been a teacher librarian and consultant for the Indian Valley (Ohio) Local Schools since 1999 and president of the Visiting Librarian Service, a contract librarian firm he has operated on a full or part-time basis since 1993. Currently, Tom also serves as the Cataloging Librarian and Government Documents Librarian at Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and has been involved in K -- 1S cataloging research and its connection to critical-thinking skill development and standards-based education since 1998. Tom recently finished Fallingwater: A Frank Lloyd Wright Country house by Edgar Kaufmann -- a look at the summer home of Pittsburgh's Kaufmann Department Store family, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and built directly into a waterfall. The unique architectural and engineering design of the home presents dramatic visual and audio effects for those viewing the historic site, originally designed during the Great Depression and completed in the early 1940s.

WORKS CITED
    Adamich, Tom. Sept./Oct. 2007. CE-cataloging column "FRBR: Cataloging's Future is Closer than you Think" Knowledge Quest 36, no. I, 64-69.
    Adamich, Tom. May/June 2007. CE-cataloging column "Curriculum-based Cataloging and the New Metadata: Cataloging Beyond the World of MARC." Knowledge Quest 35, no. 5, 66-71.
    Association for Library Collections S. Technical Services (ALCTS) Committee on Cataloging: Description &. Access. June 13, 2007. Task Force to Review the Statement of International Cataloguing Principles. June 13, 2007. "Interim Report of the Task Force, June 13, 2007." <www.libraries.psu.edu/tas/jca/ccda/tficpI.html#report0706> (accessed Sept. I, 2007). Report at ALA Forum 22 June 2007 found at <www.collectionscanada.ca/jsc/news.html> and <www.libraries.psu.edu/tas/jca/ccda/ann0705-html#forum> (accessed Sept. I, 2007).
    Huthwaite, Ann. 2000. AAGR2 and Its Place in the Digital World: Near-Term Solutions and Long-Term Direction. Washington, D.G.: Library of Congress [Presented at the Bicentennial Conference on Bibliographic Control for the New Millennium, November 15-17, 2000]. <www.loc.gov/catdir/bibcontrol/huthwaite_paper.html> (accessed Aug. 17, 2007)
    Joint Steering Committee for Revision of Anglo-American Cataloging Rules. 2007. A brief History of AACR [updated September 28, 2007]. <www.collectionscanada.ca/jsc/history.html> (accessed April 10, 2008).
    Joint Steering Committee for Revision of Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules. 2008. News & Announcements, March 31, 2008 [includes RDA and ONIX Initiative update and access to a prototype for RDA Online: <www.rdaonline.org>]. <www.collectionscanada.ca/jsc/news.html> (accessed April 10, 2008).
    Joint Steering Committee for Revision of Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules.2005. RDA: Resource Description and Access Part I -- Constituency Review of December 2005 Draft, <www.collectionscanada.ca/jsc/docs/5rda-partI.pdf> (accessed Aug. JJ, 2007).
    Joint Steering Committee for Revision of Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules. 2007. Strategic plan for RDA 2005-2008. < www.collectionscanada.ca/jsc/stratplan.html> (accessed Aug. 17 2007).
    Joint Steering Committee for Revision of Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules. 2008. RDA: Resource Description and Access [includes draft chapters and comments]. <www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/jsc/rda.html> (accessed April IO, 2008).
    Tillett, Barbara. 2005. RDA: Resource Description and Access [PowerPoint presentation]. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, <http://slis.cua.edu/ihy/rdashort.ppt> (accessed Aug. 17, 2007).

ADDITIONAL UPDATE INFORMATION
    ALA. "RDA Task Force to Develop Implementation Plan." <www.ala.org/ala/pressreleases2007/december2007/rda07.htm> (accessed Dec. 7, 2007).

TWO SAMPLE SECTIONS PROVIDE SOME INSIGHT INTO THE FUTURE OF CATALOGING RULES USING RDA

1.1.2. MODE OF ISSUANCE
    Certain guidelines and instructions in part I refer specifically to resources issued in a particular manner.
    * The term resource issued as a single unit refers to a resource that is issued either as a single physical unit (e.g., as a single-volume monograph) or, in the case of an intangible resource, as a single logical unit (e.g., as a PDF file mounted on the Web).
    * The term resource issued in two or more parts simultaneously refers to a resource comprising two or more physical units (e.g., two vidéocassettes issued as a set) or, in the case of an intangible resource, two or more logical units (e.g., a Web site comprising two or more distinct sub-sites).
    * The term resource issued in successive parts refers to a resource that is issued in a succession of discrete parts. The parts may be physically discrete (e.g., the issues of a printed magazine) or, in the case of an intangible resource, they may be logically discrete parts that are issued in succession and remain as discrete parts (e.g., the monthly issues of an electronic journal).
    * The term integrating resource refers to a resource that is added to or changed by means of updates that do not remain discrete and are integrated into the whole. An integrating resource may be tangible (e.g., a loose-leaf manual that is updated by means of replacement pages) or intangible (e.g., a Web site that is updated either continuously or on a cyclical basis).

1.1.3. INTENDED TERMINATION
    Resources issued in two or more parts (either simultaneously or successively) may also be referred to using terms that reflect a distinction between those that are to be completed within a finite number of parts and those that are to be issued over time with no predetermined conclusion.
    * The term multipart monograph refers to a resource issued in two or more parts that is complete or intended to be completed within a finite number of parts.
    * The term serial refers to a resource issued in successive parts that has no predetermined conclusion (e.g., a periodical, a series of annual reports, or a newspaper).

1.1.4 COMPREHENSIVE ANALYTICAL, AND MULTILEVEL DESCRIPTION
    A number of the guideline and instructions in part I refer to specific ways of describing a resource.
    * The term comprehensive description refers to the resource as a whole (e.g., a kit comprising a filmstrip, an audiotape, and a teacher's manual, or a collection of posters assembled by a library).

1.4. MANDATORY ELEMENTS OF DESCRIPTION
    Chapters 2-6 provide guidelines and instructions on a comprehensive set of elements covering the description of all types of resources. The following is a list of mandatory elements that reflect attributes of the entities work, expression, and manifestation designated in FRBR as basic requirements for the purposes of identifying those entities.
    Title proper
    Earlier/later variations in the title proper
    Statement of responsibility (person, family, or corporate body with principal responsibility)
    Edition statement
    Numbering
    Publisher, distributor, etc. (if more then one then only the first recorded)
    Date of publication, distribution, etc.
    Title proper of series
    Numbering within series
    Resource identifier
    Form of carrier
    Extent
    Scale of cartographic content Coordinates of cartographic content
    * When describing a resource, include as a minimum all the element listed above that are applicable to that resource.
    * Optionally, provide a cotrolled access point (see chapters 11-16) in lieu of the mandatory statement of responsibility.
    * Include any additional elements that are requires to identify the resource (i.e., to differentiate the resource from one or more other resources bearing similar identifying information).
    * When describing a resource more fully, include additional elements in accordance with the policy of the agency preparing the description, or as judged appropriate by the cataloger. (RDA, 2005)